Re: why Jews became fiddlers

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

>>> Our parents, I think , live in a constant
>>>  "paranoid" state, which really is justified due to the circumstances they
>>>  experienced.    Anybody else have thoughts about this?      LINDA
>>>  
>>A friend, Dr. John Krug, once interpreted it this way:
>>Why were Jews Fidlers (as in Fidler on the Roof)?  Because it is portable!
>>That was the emphasis on education (? And medicine)- because it can be taken
>>with you- just in case....
>
>>Just found this comment on a mailing of children of Holocaust survivors.   Do 
>>others here think that this is why Jews chose to become fiddlers?    I don't 
>>think so, but am curious about other people's opinions.

I have always assumed that Jewish love of the violin is at least
partly related to the fact that they were permitted to =play= the
violin. Someone with better memory for history (and better grasp
of reference books at hand) can provide more details, but at least
in Russia, and possibly Austria-Hungary, Jews weren't allowed to
play "loud" instruments until the last century. That kept us away
from pianos and brass instruments, and is probably one reason why
the tsimbl was also popular (although I am a tsimbl fan, regardless,
and hope that it's on its way back as a popular instrument).

Others have already written about how sweet the violin can be, which
must also matter.

ari

Ari Davidow
The klezmer shack: http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/
owner: jewish-music mailing list
e-mail: ari (at) ivritype(dot)com